Adapter for contact and contactless smart cards

ABSTRACT

A portable adapter for using a contact smart card with a contactless smart card reader and a contactless smart card with a contact smart card reader. The adaptor is provided with a casing that is configured to engage a contact smart card or a contactless smart card, and is provided with an exterior portion that physically cooperates via a contact pad with a contact smart card reader. The adapter is provided with an interface passing signals between a contactless smart card and a contact smart card reader, and an interface for passing signals between a contact smart card and a contactless smart card reader.

This invention relates generally to smart cards, and specifically to anadapter for converting a contact smart card to a contactless smart cardand vice versa.

Smart cards, also referred to as chip cards or integrated circuit cards,are devices with an embedded integrated circuit (such as amicroprocessor and/or memory) for use as storage of sensitive data oruser authentication. Smart cards may comprise memory for storingfinancial or personal data, or private data such as private keys used inthe S/MIME (Secured Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) encryptiontechnique. Preferably, some of this data may be secured using a PIN(personal identification number) or a password as an access controlmeasure. In order to access the protected data stored in the card'smemory, a user must be validated by providing the correct PIN orpassword.

Typically, the smart card itself does not include a data entry devicefor direct entry of a PIN or password for the purpose of userauthentication. The smart card is rather used in conjunction with asmart card reader that is in communication with an input device. Whenthe smart card is in communication with the smart card reader, a PIN orpassword may be provided to the smart card by the user via the inputdevice to the smart card reader. The smart card, upon receipt of the PINor password, is then configured to take steps to verify the PIN orpassword and authenticate the user. A verification signal is thenprovided by the smart card to the smart card reader.

Smart cards are typically provided in standardized form factors, such asapproximately credit-card sized form factors, for ease of handling byusers. The smart card interfaces with the reader either via a physicalcontact pad on the exterior of the card, in the case of a contact smartcard, or via an antenna embedded in the card which receives power from aradiofrequency (RF) field generated by the card reader, in the case of acontactless smart card. Most smart cards that are deployed operateeither as a contact smart card or as a contactless smart card, and thereaders that are deployed to be used with those cards are thus contactcard readers or contactless card readers.

However, when an existing contact or contactless smart card readerinstallation is to be expanded or upgraded, the expansion or upgrade mayrequire the use of smart card readers and/or smart cards that areintended to operate on a contactless or contact basis, respectively. Itis not necessarily practical to replace contact or contactless smartcard readers with readers capable of reading both contact andcontactless smart cards, or to replace all users' smart cards with acontactless or contact smart card to function with the smart cardreaders installed in a given environment. Accordingly, it is desirableto provide a system for allowing a contact smart card to be adapted foruse with a contactless smart card reader, and for allowing a contactlesssmart card to be adapted for use with a contact smart card reader,without requiring the user to replace the original smart card orreplacing or retrofitting an existing smart card reader.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a portable adapter isprovided for using a contact smart card with a contactless smart cardreader and a contactless smart card with a contact smart card reader,comprising a casing having an interior and an exterior, the interior ofthe casing being configured to removably engage a contact smart card ora contactless smart card, the exterior of the casing being configured tophysically cooperate with a contact smart card reader, means adapted forinterfacing a contactless smart card with a contact smart card reader,and means adapted for interfacing a contact smart card with acontactless smart card reader.

In a further aspect of the invention, the means adapted for interfacinga contactless smart card with a contact smart card reader comprises anexternal contact module for receiving and transmitting electricalsignals from and to a contact smart card reader, the external contactmodule being disposed on the exterior of the casing such that theexternal contact module can be placed in physical contact with a contactpad on a contact smart card reader, and a transceiver in communicationwith the external contact module for converting electrical signalsreceived by the external contact module to electromagnetic signals forreception by a contactless smart card removably engaged in the casing,and for converting received electromagnetic signals from the contactlesssmart card to electrical signals to be transmitted by the externalcontact module to the contact smart card reader.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate by way of example only a preferredembodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a smart card adaptor.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a smart card adaptor and smart card.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the prior art, a typical smart card system comprises a smart cardreader (not shown), which may be a contact reader or a contactlessreader, which is operatively connected to an input device (not shown).As is well known in the art, a contact reader is provided with a contactpad and preferably a slot for receiving a smart card, such that when acontact smart card is inserted in the contact reader, a contact moduleprovided on the contact smart card makes physical contact with thecontact pad in the contact reader, by which means the reader cantransmit power and instructions and receive data from the contact smartcard. A contactless reader is provided with a transceiver, whichcomprises an antenna, a digital signal processor, and a radiofrequencycircuit; the contactless reader transceiver generates an electromagneticfield, which is used to power a contactless smart card held within theproximity of the contactless reader, and the transceiver is capable ofreceiving data from the contactless smart card by detecting changes inthe electromagnetic field induced by the contactless smart card. Thereader and the input device may be contained in the same physical unit.If the reader and the input device are not integrated, then the inputdevice may communicate with the smart card reader either by a directwired connection, such as via USB (Universal Serial Bus) or by awireless communication link in accordance with a standard such as theInstitute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a/b/gstandard for wireless local area networks, Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, and thelike, or future standards for wireless, preferably short-range,communication.

A preferred embodiment of a smart card adaptor 200 is shown in FIGS. 1and 2. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the adaptor 200 is capable of receivinga smart card 100, which may be a prior art contact smart card orcontactless smart card. Preferably, the smart card 100 is engaged withthe adaptor 200 by means of a frictional contact or a spring-biasedcontact, so that a user can easily remove the smart card 100 from theadaptor 200 without the application of excessive force. If the smartcard 100 is a contact smart card, it is preferably provided with aphysical contact portion (not shown) in accordance with ISO/IEC 7816published by the International Organization for Standardization, whichcontact portion would normally provide an interface with a prior artcontact smart card reader for data communication between the card 100and the reader, and further provides any necessary power to the carditself. If the smart card 100 is a contactless smart card (not shown),it preferably operates in accordance with ISO/IEC 10536, 14443, or15693, which define standards for close-coupled, proximity, and vicinitysmart cards, respectively. Contactless smart cards are not required tomaintain physical contact with a contactless smart card reader in orderto function, but rather communicate with the reader with an antenna anda radiofrequency interface, and are powered by an electromagnetic fieldgenerated at the reader. A typical form factor for the smart card 100 isthe “credit card” type form factor, although the smart card 10 may becomprised in another form factor or device that provides thefunctionality for communication with a smart card reader, such as a SIMcard.

The smart card adaptor 200 will be described first in relation to itsuse as an adaptor for converting a contactless smart card for use with acontact smart card reader. Referring to FIG. 1, in a preferredembodiment, the smart card adaptor 200 is provided with an externalcontact module 210 in communication with an optional processor 280,which in turn is in communication with a transceiver 230. Thetransceiver 230 may be in direct communication with the external contactmodule 210. The external contact module 210 is preferably similar to thecontact modules known in the art and provided on contact smart cards,and is preferably provided with the same contacts (such as Vcc, reset,clock, ground, and input/output) that are defined by ISO 7816. As can beseen from FIG. 2, preferably the external contact module 210 is providedon an external portion 240 of the adaptor 200, the external portion 240being sized to physically cooperate with a contact smart card reader,and the external contact module 210 being positioned to physicallyengage the contact pad of the contact smart card reader when theexternal contact module 210 is in physical cooperation with the reader.Most preferably, the adaptor 200 is sized to provide a portable meansfor carrying the smart card 100 without adding appreciable bulk orweight to the smart card 100.

Preferably, the transceiver 230 is configured to receive signals fromthe external contact module 210 when the adaptor is engaged with acontact smart card reader, and is receiving power and signals from thecontact smart card reader via the external contact module 210. Thetransceiver 230 preferably comprises an oscillator or radiofrequencycircuit, a digital signal processor, and an antenna. It will beappreciated that while the transceiver 230 is defined to include severalcomponents including an antenna, it would also be possible fortransceiver 230 to use an external antenna such as antenna 250 forcommunications.

When the transceiver receives an initialization signal from the externalcontact module 210, the transceiver 230, powered by the contact cardreader via the contact module 210, initializes a wireless protocol witha contactless smart card 100 inserted in the adaptor 200. As is known inthe art in relation to contactless smart cards and contactless smartcard readers, the transceiver 230 creates an electromagnetic field andtransmits information to the smart card via the electromagnetic field;the contactless smart card 100 within the adaptor 200 is thusinitialized via the electromagnetic field generated by the transceiver230. The transceiver 230 receives information from the contactless smartcard 100 by detecting changes in the electromagnetic field caused by thecontactless smart card 100, for example in accordance with ISO 10536,14443, or 15693, and converts the received data to a signal that istransmitted via the output contact of the external contact module 210 tothe contact card reader in accordance with ISO 7816. The optionalprocessor 280 may act as an interface between the external contactmodule 210 and the transceiver 230, converting the signals received fromthe external contact module 210 to a signal that can be processed by thetransceiver 230 for conversion to an electromagnetic signal, and viceversa. The adaptor 200 thus acts as a “dumb” contactless card reader,which transmits instructions to and receives data from the contactlesscard 100 within the adaptor 200, and transmits data to and receivesinstructions from the contact card reader in physical cooperation withthe adaptor 200.

When the smart card adaptor 200 is used as an adaptor for converting acontact smart card to a contactless smart card, a contact smart card 100as known in the prior art is engaged in the adaptor 200. The contact padprovided on the contact smart card 100 is placed in physical contactwith an internal contact module 270, shown in FIG. 1. The internalcontact module 270 is connected to a radio frequency interface 260,which in turn is connected to an antenna 250. The antenna 250 ispreferably formed of multiple turns of a conductive medium, such as wireor a conductive ink, embedded within the adaptor 200, similar to theconfiguration of the antenna in a contactless smart card.

When the smart card adaptor 200 is placed in the vicinity of a prior artcontactless smart card reader, the electromagnetic field generated bythe contactless smart card reader induces a current in the antenna 250which is used to transmit signals to the internal contact module 270 viathe RF interface 260. Optionally, the RF interface 260 and the optionalprocessor 280 may be provided in the same integrated circuit, reducingthe number of separate components in the adaptor 200. The internalcontact module 270 then transmits the received signals to the contactsmart card 100 via the contact pad on the contact smart card 100, againin accordance with techniques known in the art. The contact smart card100 is thus powered through the internal contact module 270, whichreceives a current from the antenna 250 so long as the contact smartcard 100 and the adaptor 200 are within the vicinity of a contactlesssmart card reader. The adaptor 200 thus operates as a “dumb” contactcard reader, transmitting instructions to and receiving data from thecontact smart card 100, and transmitting data to and receivinginstructions from the contactless card reader.

Optionally, it may be necessary to include a signal booster, or voltagepump, to the internal contact module 270 to supply an amplified currentto the contact card. As will be appreciated by the person skilled in theart, the necessity of including a signal booster, and the requisitelevel of amplification, is dependent upon the characteristics of aparticular embodiment including: the power requirements of the contactsmart card 100, the signal strength of the contactless smart cardreader, the distance between the contactless smart card reader and theantenna 250, and the speed of data transmission.

A signal booster is generally not required for standard readers, as thereader is designed to provide sufficient power to activate the type ofcard with which the reader has been designed to operate. Since thepresent invention permits a card to operate with a reader for which itwas not intended to operate, the power provided by the reader may not besufficient for the requirements of the card. In such a situation, asignal booster may be provided that amplifies the signal to a carddepending upon the requirements of that card type.

Various embodiments of the present invention having been thus describedin detail by way of example, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that variations and modifications may be made without departing fromthe invention. The invention includes all such variations andmodifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patentdocument or patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightswhatsoever.

1. A method for communicating between a contact smart card and acontactless smart card reader, the method comprising: receiving, at aportable adaptor, an electrical signal from the contact smart card whenthe contact smart card is removably engaged with the portable adaptor,the portable adaptor comprising means adapted for interfacing acontactless smart card with a contact smart card reader and meansadapted for interfacing the contact smart card with the contactlesssmart card reader; converting, by the portable adaptor, the electricalsignal received from the contact smart card to an electromagneticsignal; and transmitting, to the contactless smart card reader, theelectromagnetic signal.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingamplifying a level of the electrical signal received from the contactsmart card prior to converting the electrical signal.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising amplifying a level of the electromagneticsignal to be transmitted to the contactless smart card reader prior totransmitting the electromagnetic signal to the contactless smart cardreader.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, fromthe contactless smart card reader, a further electromagnetic signal;converting, by the portable adaptor, the further electromagnetic signalreceived from the contactless smart card reader to a further electricalsignal; and transmitting, to the contact smart card, the furtherelectrical signal.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprisingamplifying a level of the further electromagnetic signal received fromthe contactless smart card reader prior to converting the furtherelectromagnetic signal.
 6. The method of claim 4, further comprisingamplifying a level of the further electrical signal to be transmitted tothe contact smart card prior to transmitting the further electricalsignal to the contact smart card.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theportable adaptor further comprises a casing having an interior and anexterior, the interior of the casing being configured to removablyengage the contact smart card or the contactless smart card, theexterior of the casing being configured to physically cooperate with thecontact smart card reader.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, from the contact smart card reader, a further electricalsignal; converting, by the portable adaptor, the further electricalsignal received from the contact smart card reader to a furtherelectromagnetic signal; and transmitting, to the contactless smart card,the further electromagnetic signal.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising amplifying a level of the further electrical signal prior toconverting the further electrical signal.
 10. The method of claim 8,further comprising amplifying a level of the further electromagneticsignal prior to transmitting the further electromagnetic signal to thecontactless smart card.
 11. A method for communicating between acontactless smart card and a contact smart card reader, the methodcomprising: receiving, at a portable adaptor, an electromagnetic signalfrom the contactless smart card when the contactless smart card isremovably engaged with the portable adaptor, the portable adaptorcomprising means adapted for interfacing a contactless smart card with acontact smart card reader and means adapted for interfacing the contactsmart card with the contactless smart card reader; converting, by theportable adaptor, the electromagnetic signal received from thecontactless smart card to an electrical signal; and transmitting, to thecontact smart card reader, the electrical signal.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising amplifying a level of the electromagneticsignal received from the contactless smart card prior to converting theelectromagnetic signal.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprisingamplifying a level of the electrical signal to be transmitted to thecontact smart card reader prior to transmitting the electrical signal tothe contact smart card reader.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein theportable adaptor further comprises a casing having an interior and anexterior, the interior of the casing being configured to removablyengage the contact smart card or the contactless smart card, theexterior of the casing being configured to physically cooperate with thecontact smart card reader.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein theexterior of the casing is engaged with the contact smart card readerduring the act of transmitting.
 16. A computer program product,comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable programcode embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to beexecuted to implement a method for communicating between a contact smartcard and a contactless smart card reader, the method comprising:receiving, at a portable adaptor, an electrical signal from the contactsmart card when the contact smart card is removably engaged with theportable adaptor, the portable adaptor comprising means adapted forinterfacing a contactless smart card with a contact smart card readerand means adapted for interfacing the contact smart card with thecontactless smart card reader; converting, by the portable adaptor, theelectrical signal received from the contact smart card to anelectromagnetic signal; and transmitting, to the contactless smart cardreader, the electromagnetic signal.
 17. A computer program product,comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable programcode embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to beexecuted to implement a method for communicating between a contactlesssmart card and a contact smart card reader, the method comprising:receiving, at a portable adaptor, an electromagnetic signal from thecontactless smart card when the contactless smart card is removablyengaged with the portable adaptor, the portable adaptor comprising meansadapted for interfacing a contactless smart card with a contact smartcard reader and means adapted for interfacing the contact smart cardwith the contactless smart card reader; converting, by the portableadaptor, the electromagnetic signal received from the contactless smartcard to an electrical signal; and transmitting, to the contact smartcard reader, the electrical signal.
 18. A portable adapter for using acontact smart card with a contactless smart card reader and for using acontactless smart card with a contact smart card reader, the portableadaptor comprising: means adapted for interfacing the contactless smartcard with the contact smart card reader; and means adapted forinterfacing the contact smart card with the contactless smart cardreader.
 19. A system for communicating with a contact smart card, thesystem comprising: a contactless smart card reader; and a portableadaptor comprising means adapted for interfacing a contactless smartcard with a contact smart card reader and means adapted for interfacingthe contact smart card with the contactless smart card reader.
 20. Asystem for communicating with a contactless smart card, the systemcomprising: a contact smart card reader; and a portable adaptorcomprising means adapted for interfacing the contactless smart card withthe contact smart card reader and means adapted for interfacing acontact smart card with a contactless smart card reader.